FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler impressed investors with its quarterly figures on Tuesday. UBS expert Juan Perez-Carrascosa emphasized the unexpectedly high profitability and the robust order intake in the e-mobility sector. His colleague Akshat Kacker from the US bank JPMorgan praised the fact that the strong spare parts business had compensated for the weak industrial business. The drive specialist Vitesco, which is about to be taken over by Schaeffler, also benefited from the applause for the figures.

Schaeffler shares, which had already stabilized recently, jumped up to 6.38 euros and recently maintained a plus of 11.8 percent to 6.30 euros. They thus returned to the level of April 25, shortly before a dividend of 45 cents was paid out for 2023. In addition, the shares once again broke above several technical chart averages, which are considered important indicators for further share price development.

Vitesco shares were roughly on a par with Schaeffler on Tuesday, rising by 12 percent to 71.25 euros. Both shares bucked the weak trend in the European automotive industry with significant price gains on Tuesday.

In recent months, the share price performance of Schaeffler and Vitesco was largely determined by a takeover bid and a merger plan. While Schaeffler's share price has risen by 12.6 percent so far in 2024, making it one of the better performers in the small cap index, Vitesco has lost a good 9 percent this year. Schaeffler's takeover bid, which amounted to 94 euros at the time, expired in December.

In February, an exchange ratio of 11.4 Schaeffler shares was set for investors who still held Vitesco shares. Based on the Schaeffler share price at the time, this was significantly less than the 94 euros originally offered. The agreement to merge the two companies was then approved by Schaeffler shareholders at the end of April. Since then, the price performance of both shares has been closely linked.

Despite a difficult environment, Schaeffler's decline in earnings at the beginning of the year was noticeably less than feared. Thanks to special effects, CEO Klaus Rosenfeld was even able to report a significant jump in the bottom line. Turnover only fell due to negative currency effects - otherwise it would have remained stable. While the automotive supply and automotive spare parts business performed better, the rolling and ball bearing division for general industry continued to struggle due to the weakness in Europe. The company is sticking to its targets for the year./gl/tih/men/mis